paralegal

legal assistant

billing analyst

associate

manager of business development

Mayer Brown LLP

I had a highly unprofessional experience during my onsite interview with this company. Despite having the exact skills and qualifications they were looking for, the way the interview was conducted was a huge red flag.

The interviewer left the room twice—each time for nearly 30 minutes—with no explanation, no apology, and no consideration for my time. I was left sitting alone in the interview room wondering if I should just walk out. Honestly, I almost did. But I stayed to be polite and complete the process, even though I knew right then that this wasn’t the kind of company I wanted to work for.

It was clear that my background and experience aligned with the role, but the total lack of professionalism during the interview showed me everything I needed to know about the company culture and leadership. If this is how they treat candidates during the hiring process, I can only imagine how employees are treated once onboard.

Bottom Line:
Even if I had been offered the position, I would have declined. The interview experience alone made it clear this would not be a healthy or respectful work environment. Proceed with caution.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part was my staff.  They were hardworking, collaborative, and always committed to excellence.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part was the  limited autonomy, a lack of trust and frequent micromanagement that created unnecessary stress and hindered collaboration and departmental improvements.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment varied by department. While many employees were collaborative and supportive, the department I was in lacked structure and consistency. Frequent shifts in priorities and limited trust from upper management created a challenging culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
My days were filled with frequent meetings, managing escalations, and providing support to the team. I often had to coach and train staff due to limited prior training and inconsistent processes.

The department I worked in was very clicky. You either were welcomed with open arms or you weren't. Management claimed that the culture was "awesome" and everyone was so collaborative. However, it's one of those things where you walk the walk, or talk the talk and if you have never worked in a law firm or a high stress environment than the firm, or any law firm is not the place for you. The job description I had applied to and what was being asked of me, or demanded, was not what was in the description and everything was different. There is no growth in the firm at all. You are stuck doing the same thing every day and nothing changes. Working with people that act like they are the kings and rulers of the firm. It literally is high school there. Where there are the "popular", "jocks", etc. And if you are the outcasts, than you are basically on the out. 

Management doesn't pay attention to the environment they are creating on the team. I began questioning everything that was being asked of me. It truly is not a good place to work.

The entire mindset has changed to reflect the current economic climate. Old Mayer Brown strived to provide the best services to clients and placed a high value on experience. As the economy came to effect the bottom line the management brought in hachet men to prune out employees in their 40s and 50s to bring in new and lower level replacements. Many co-workers and many years of pride because you knew you had exhausted every angle and the client was getting the best service and representation by the top legal teams. An exodus of top attorneys and support staff has really changed what a client can expect to receive in services. Many fine employees still work there, but diversity in the type of knowledge and expertise are gone forever.

Mayer Brown was a great company to work for.  My position was unfortunately eliminated because several attorney positions had been eliminated.

A typical day for me at Mayer Brown included, but was not limited to the following: managing items on my attorneys' calendars, arranging conferences and making travel arrangements, assisting them by revising their court documents or other client correspondence, preparing their expense reports and by managing client files and documents.

Each month we received a training calendar and were able to sign up for computer classes which were offered at no charge to the employees.  

From time to time I was asked to research legal files from the internet.

I was very excited to come to Mayer Brown, specifically to work in Finance.  I got to work on exciting deals and learned new things everyday.  While I had a phenomenal experience working with some of the veteran securitization partners who have paved the way in this field nationally, I felt that many of the finance and management leads and members created a difficult and competitive environment overall and this behavior within the department caused me to leave and go in-house.  I still work with one of the securitization partners who taught me everything when I started, but would never go back in-house to this environment.

Mayer Brown LLP is a leading law firm in the city of Chicago.  Over the years I have worked for numerous attorneys and have been highly adaptable to their needs.  Software constantly changes, in-house training is provided and team work is a necessity.  Service departments provide a high standard of assistance.  The hardest part of the job was adapting to newly assigned attorneys and managing stress levels during the busiest times.  The most enjoyable part of my job was organizing social events such as lunches for both the attorneys and staff on the floor I worked on.

every member of my team has put in for an internal and external transfer to get away from the management of this team. i use the team 'management' loosely. we were told months ago we would be given a job description for each member of management and that has never happened, we are treated like toddlers and one member of the team literally has to tell them when he's going to the bathroom. hr is absolutely useless and says there is nothing they can do about the toxic work environment.


I managed and coordinated confidential and time sensitive administrative request of senior partners, associates, legal secretaries, and paralegals. Supported and fostered the vision of a recognized global law firm and perpetuated profitable client/firm relationships. Afforded to work alongside a 50 year plus stellar  partner and I was/is highly regarded trusted and regarded.

I worked as a paralegal temp for nine months on a large products liability case, working with the paralegal supervisor who was very supportive and another paralegal who was employed by the firm.
We worked as well with a team of attorneys on this large and notorious matter. I left this job in order to move to Seattle which I had had planned for some time. Had I not moved I could have stayed on with this case and felt that I might well have been able to stay on at the firm as an employee. Would recommend working there to anyone.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Paralegal 22 salaries reported	$94,998 per year
Legal assistant 28 salaries reported	$85,291 per year
Billing analyst 1 salary reported	$63,300 per year
Associate 9 salaries reported	$279,444 per year
Manager of business development 12 salaries reported	$135,250 per year

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